1 dead, 1 seriously hurt by Metra Electric train

June 30, 2009

One person was killed and another seriously injured when they were pinned beneath a Metra Electric Line train near the Windsor Park station at 75th and South Exchange at around 4:30 p.m. today, according to Metra officials.

Police and rescue personnel at the scene where one person was killed and another seriously injured by a Metra train. (Tribune / Abel Uribe)

Chicago Fire officials say the two people were pinned under the train when they arrived on the scene. One person was dead on the scene and another was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious-to-critical condition.

Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile says both victims are believed to be male.

Chicago police stopped all rail traffic on the South Chicago branch of the Electric Line, with service suspended between Stony Island and South Chicago (93rd Street) stations, Reile said.

Service was restored as of 6:15 p.m., although trains have been canceled or delayed by up to 25 minutes.

Terrell Borum, 22, said he was hanging out at a nearby barber shop, about 20 feet away from the incident. He said the two men were walking east on South Exchange Avenue and began to cross the tracks when the crossing gates came down.

"I think they just weren't paying attention and you know, in just a fraction of a second, the train came to a complete stop [pinning them]," Borum said. "It was terrifying."

Ramona Jones, 43, of Chicago was on the train that stuck the pedestrians.

She said she felt a jolt as the train was entering the station area, and it felt like someone was trying to make an emergency stop of the train.

Personnel were making some sort of announcement but it could not be heard clearly in her car, Jones said. However, as people from other cars moved to the front of the train they spread the word that pedestrians had been hit.

Jones was able to exit the train from the front car and saw the rescue personnel try to remove the victims.